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Football Stadium DigestFootball Stadium Digest covers major stories and events in the planning, construction and operations of NCAA and professional NFL football stadiums across the United States and Canada.

Miami Stadium Renovations Still on Track: Ross

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross once again asserted Miami stadium renovations were on schedule to be completed by Sept. 1, in time for the NFL team’s final preseason game.

The team already shifted an August 25 preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons to Orlando’s Camping World Stadium — a move made at the request of the NFL, according to Ross — and there was also talk of potentially moving the Sept. 1 game as well. But Ross, at a time when the team was celebrating the topping-off mark in stadium construction (for those outside the industry, a topping-off ceremony marks the installation of the final truss of the infrastructure), said that there was a daily reckoning of the construction schedule.

The Sept. 1 exhibition will be a shakedown before the Miami Hurricanes open their season on Sept. 3 against Florida A&M. The two

The $500 million upgrades to the former Joe Robbie Stadium and Sun Life Stadium include the construction of a canopy that should shade 92 percent of the seats, as well as revamped suites in 2017 and other new fan experiences, including new box seats unveiled last year.

“I’ve been on a phone call every day at 4:30 since January and really pushing it,” said Ross, a real estate billionaire. “I think what we’ve done is probably unprecedented. I’ve built over $20 billion worth of projects, and this is the most complex, basically because you’re putting such a large structure in place in such a short period of time, and there’s no way you can be late. There’s no alternative.

“I know we will be playing Sept. 1 there.”

Ross said there’s no backup plan for a Dolphins game site if the stadium isn’t ready on time.

Besides Dolphins and Hurricanes games, the stadium will host the 2020 Super Bowl.